Considering Adoption?

The holidays are here. Many associate the holidays with family. And for some, family is a tough topic. Adoption is expensive. Ever consider adopting from foster care? Adopting from foster care is FREE. Yes. You read that right. It costs nothing. There are thousands of children in foster care in Florida and across the country who desperately need parents. Maybe it’s time?

In the U.S. more than 397,122 children are living without permanent families in the foster care system. 101,666 of these children are eligible for adoption, but nearly 32% of these children will wait over three years in foster care before being adopted.

Before working in the world of private adoptions, I worked with kids in foster care who were waiting to be adopted. It was my job to find families for the children on my caseload. So many had been mistreated for years by their biological families, only to become part of a system that also did not treat them very well. These children were often on medication, in group homes, participating in ongoing counseling and sometimes hospitalized because of dangerous behaviors. These kids were also moving their belongings from home to home in trash bags, unable to maintain contact with siblings and angry at every adult that ever presented themselves as someone who could help. They lived in a world of disappointment.

Becoming a parent for a waiting child is an amazing opportunity to give back. And receive. These kids have a lot of live to give and all they want to do is to be loved back in return. Many of these children also have siblings and want to be a family, together. Adopting a siblings group can be a financial hardship. Did you know that when adopting a sibling group from foster care you are eligible to receive an ongoing stipend per child? This is certainly not a money maker, but the stipend can help with the expenses related to raising children.

So again…consider adopting from foster care. No child needs parents more than a child without any.Considering Adoption?

Connecting Hearts Adoption Services provides home study services to families all across the state of Florida. We have provided support services from Gainesville to Miami and everywhere in between! We travel between Orlando, Ocala, Gainesville, Daytona, Melbourne, Lakeland, Tampa, Clearwater, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. We serve North Florida, Central Florida and South Florida. We have clients across Orange County, Seminole County, Marion County, Alachua County, Volusia County, Brevard County, Lake County, Hillsborough County, Palm Beach County, Broward County and Miami-Dade County.